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2 Corinthians 8:3 — Word Study

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N1904ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

BSAForhoti according tokata [donated, contributed] [their] ability,dunamis [power, capacity] I testify [that],martureō [bear witness, give evidence] andkai besidehuper [their] abilitydunamis [their means, resources] [they were] willing of themselves,authairetos [self-chosen, voluntary, without coercion]

Word
Listen & take away2 Corinthians 8
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 3 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (authairetos) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
2 Corinthians 8:3quick helps
In a sentencePaul testifies that the Macedonians gave generously, even beyond what they could afford.
Who is speakingPaul, writing to the Corinthians about the generosity of the Macedonian churches.
Where we arePaul is discussing the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, highlighting the example of the Macedonians.
The hard wordδύναμις
Take awayGenerosity is not limited by means; it can exceed what seems possible.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectαὐθαίρετος verbμαρτυρέω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — , the commonest word in the Greek New Testament, stands 19,867 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — 2 Corinthians 8:3

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — The Generosity of the Macedoniansgenerated

2In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.
3For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,
4they earnestly pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
5And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, because it was the will of God.

2 Corinthians 8:3 is part of Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians, where he highlights the remarkable generosity of the Macedonian churches. Despite their own trials and poverty, they gave willingly and abundantly. Paul uses their example to encourage the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, emphasizing that true generosity comes from the heart, not just from one's financial ability.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
12 Corinthians 9:6–7Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
2Mark 14:8She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.
3Acts 11:29So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
41 Corinthians 16:2On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.
51 Peter 4:11If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

The Key Word δύναμις, dunamisgenerated

The word δύναμις (dunamis) means power or ability. It is a feminine noun in the accusative singular, indicating it is the object of the preposition in this context. This word encompasses not just physical strength but also the capacity to act, which can include financial contributions.

In this verse, it refers specifically to the Macedonians' financial capability, highlighting how they gave according to their ability, and even beyond it, showcasing their willingness to support others despite their own limitations.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,' which is consistent with the KJV and ASV that also emphasize the idea of giving according to one's power.

However, the translations vary on the rendering of δύναμιν. The KJV uses 'power' while the BSB opts for 'ability.' This distinction is important as it reflects slightly different nuances in understanding the Macedonians' contributions.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the sentence is μαρτυρῶ (I testify), which governs the entire clause. The structure includes a prepositional phrase that describes how they gave, and an adverbial phrase that indicates the manner of their giving.

The sentence structure emphasizes the Macedonians' willingness through the use of the adverbial phrase αὐθαίρετοι (of their own accord), showing that their generosity was voluntary and heartfelt.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In 2 Corinthians 8:3, the word δύναμιν (dunamis) is used to convey the idea of '[their] ability.' This term appears frequently in the Septuagint, where it translates Hebrew words such as חַ֫יִל (chayil), which can mean strength or efficiency, and צָבָא (tsaba), meaning army or warfare. The choice of dunamis in this context emphasizes not just the capacity to give, but also the strength and willingness behind their actions.

The verb μαρτυρῶ (martureō), meaning 'I testify,' also has roots in the Septuagint, where it translates the Hebrew עֵד (ed), which denotes a witness. This connection highlights the importance of the speaker's credibility and the weight of their testimony regarding the generous actions of others.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

2 Corinthians 8:3 tells us that Paul is testifying about the generosity of the Macedonian churches. They gave according to their ability and even beyond it, showing their willingness to help others despite their own struggles. This example serves as an encouragement for the Corinthians to give generously as well.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that they gave according to their ability?

It means that the Macedonians contributed what they could afford, reflecting their financial capacity.

Why is their willingness to give significant?

Their willingness is significant because it demonstrates that true generosity comes from a desire to help others, regardless of one's own financial situation.

How can we apply this example of giving today?

We can apply this example by being generous with our resources, giving what we can, and doing so willingly, just as the Macedonians did.

What does Paul mean by testifying?

Paul means he is bearing witness to the truth of the Macedonians' generosity, affirming their actions as an example for others.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I give generously, even if my resources are limited?
  2. How does the example of the Macedonians inspire me to support others?
  3. What does it mean for me to give of my own accord?
  4. How can I encourage others to be generous in their giving?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Early church commentators like John Chrysostom and Ambrosiaster reflect on this verse to highlight the significance of voluntary giving.

John ChrysostomHomily 16 on 2 Corinthians c. 347–407
Wherefore he nowhere says, 'the richness of the gifts,' but "the riches of their liberality." Now what he says is to this effect;
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 8 →
AmbrosiasterCOMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES fl. c. 366–384
Because they gave themselves to God wholeheartedly, they wanted to offer even more than their strength allowed.
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 8 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 2 Corinthians 8:3 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For to [their] power, I bear record,.... They gave according to their ability, to the utmost of it, which is the most that can be desired, or be given; for no man can give more than he has, nor is he

Read John Gill on 2 Corinthians 8 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; They (were) willing - rather supply from 2 Corinthians 8:5, 'According to their power ... yea, and beyond their power, THEY GAVE.

Read Robert Jamieson on 2 Corinthians 8 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Two things the apostle commendeth in the charity of the churches of Macedonia: 1. The quantity of their gift, which, he saith, was to their power, yea, ( on his knowledge), beyond what they were able. 2. Their freedom in the action; so as they did not need the apostle’ s exhortations and arguments, but did it of themselves freely and cheerfully.

Read Matthew Poole on 2 Corinthians 8 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Ver. 3. Yea, and beyond their power] One such poor Macedonian might well shame a hundred rich Corinthian curmudgeons. They knew that Manus pauperum est gazophylacium Christi, The hand of the poor man is the treasury of Christ, and might haply have heard of their once King Alexander the Great, how that when he had undertaken the conquest of the Persian empire, he gave away his treasure; and being asked where it was, he pointed to the poor, and said, In scriniis, in my chests; and when he was further asked what he kept for himself, he answered, Spem maiorum et meliorum, The hope of greater and…

Read John Trapp on 2 Corinthians 8 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) They were willing of themselves.—Literally, spontaneously. This was the point of excellence which he wished to indicate as an example to the Corinthians. Those of Macedonia needed no appeal or counsel such as he had given to the Corinthians and to others.

Read Charles John Ellicott on 2 Corinthians 8 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 3. For to their power, c.] In their liberality they had no rule but their ability they believed they were bound to contribute all they could; and even this rule they transgressed, for they went beyond their power-they deprived themselves for a time of the necessaries of life, in order to give to others who were destitute even of necessaries.

Read AdamClarke on 2 Corinthians 8 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. willing of themselves] Willynge of their owne accorde, Tyndale. Literally, of their own choice, not excluding, however, as Meyer well remarks, Divine, but only human, influence in the matter. Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:17.

Read Cambridge on 2 Corinthians 8 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For to their power - To the utmost of their ability. I bear record - Paul had founded those churches and had spent much time with them. He was therefore well qualified to bear testimony in regard to their condition.

Read Albert Barnes on 2 Corinthians 8 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,

WEBWorld English Bible2000

For according to their power, I testify, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord,

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,

NETBNew English Translation2006

For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily,

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

For according to their power, I bear witness, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord,

RVARevised Version, American1894

For according to their power, I bear witness, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord,

NWBWebster's Bible1833

For to their power, I bear testimony, and even beyond their power, they were willing of themselves;

GNVGeneva Bible1599

For to their power (I beare record) yea, and beyonde their power, they were willing,

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

For according to [their] power, I bear witness, and beyond [their] power, [they were] willing of their own accord,

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

because, according to [their] power, I testify, and above [their] power, they were willing of themselves,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

because, according to [their] power, I testify, and above [their] power, they were willing of themselves,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

For I bear witness that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond what they were able, and of their own free will,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

For according to their power (I bear them witness), and beyond their power, they were willing.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

I can confirm that they gave what they could, in fact even more than that! By their own choice

BBEBible in Basic English1949

For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts,

Word by word, the decisions they made

δύναμιν,dunamis [their] ability, G1411 2 different renderings
powerASV DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA WEB YLT
abilityBSB MSB
μαρτυρῶ,martureō I testify [that], G3140 2 different renderings
testifyBSB LSV MSB NETB WEB YLT
i bear witnessASV DBY RVA ULB
δύναμινdunamis [their] ability G1411 3 different renderings
powerASV DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA WEB YLT
abilityBSB MSB
their meansNETB

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the Nestle 1904 treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseclauseverbμαρτυρῶI testify [that]clauseὅτιForclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialprepositional phraseκατὰaccording toδύναμιν[their] abilityκαὶandprepositional phraseπαρὰbeyondδύναμιν[their] abilityadverbialαὐθαίρετοι[they were] willing of themselvesclause · adverbialprepositional phrase · adverbialμετὰwithnoun phraseπολλῆςmuchπαρακλήσεωςentreatyverbδεόμενοιimploringobjectἡμῶνof usnoun phrase · second objectnoun phraseτὴνfor theχάρινgraceκαὶandnoun phraseτὴνthenoun phraseκοινωνίανfellowshipnoun phrasenoun phraseτῆςof theδιακονίαςservicenoun phraseτῆς-prepositional phraseεἰςamongnoun phraseτοὺςtheἁγίουςsaintsκαὶAndclauseclauseadverbialοὐnot [only]clauseκαθὼςasclauseverbἠλπίσαμενwe had hopedἀλλὰbutclauseobjectἑαυτοὺςthemselvesverbἔδωκανthey gavenoun phrase · indirect objectnoun phraseπρῶτονfirstnoun phraseτῷto theΚυρίῳLordκαὶand thenἡμῖνto usprepositional phrase · adverbialδιὰby [the]noun phraseθελήματοςwillΘεοῦof Godprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςAccordinglynoun phraseτὸ-clauseverbπαρακαλέσαιexhortedsubjectἡμᾶςweobjectΤίτονTitusclauseἵναthatclauseκαθὼςasclauseverbπροενήρξατοhe had begunclauseadverbialοὕτωςsoadverbialκαὶalsoverbἐπιτελέσῃhe might completeprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςwithὑμᾶςyounoun phrase · objectκαὶas wellnoun phrasenoun phraseτὴνtheχάρινgraceταύτηνthis

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The earliest translations — Latin and Syriac

Every translation is an argument about meaning made by someone who had to commit to one. These two were made while the Greek was still a living language, and they are the oldest opinions we have about what this verse says.

Latin VulgateAD 382–405

quia secundum virtutem testimonium illis reddo, et supra virtutem voluntarii fuerunt,

Jerome revised the Old Latin against the Greek from AD 382; the Latin west read this text for a thousand years.

Syriac Peshittaby AD 400

ܣܗܕ ܐܢܐ ܓܝܪ ܕܐܝܟ ܚܝܠܗܘܢ ܘܝܬܝܪ ܡܢ ܚܝܠܗܘܢ ܒܨܒܝܢ ܢܦܫܗܘܢ

The Bible of the Syriac-speaking church, in the language nearest to the Aramaic Jesus spoke.

Shown verse by verse rather than word by word: aligning a Greek word to its Latin or Syriac counterpart automatically would be guesswork, and a wrong alignment is worse than none.


The Greek editions compared — what the manuscripts actually say

Eight printed editions of the Greek New Testament, side by side. Where they agree the wording is settled; where a word is missing from an edition it is marked, so you can see the difference rather than take it on trust.

Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

An independent critical text built from the oldest witnesses then known.

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι,

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse they differ
Critical editions
Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993SBL Greek New Testament2010Westcott–Hort1881Tregelles1857–1879Tyndale House Greek NT2017
Byzantine / Majority
Byzantine majority text2018
Received Text
Textus Receptus1550/1894

A witness that read differently would show its variant word here, marked.

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
παρὰ besideNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Greek New Testament — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

2 Corinthians 8:3ὅτιForForὅτικατάaccording taccording toκατάδύναμις[their] abi[their] abilityδύναμιςμαρτυρέωI testify [I testify [thatμαρτυρέωκαίandandκαίπαράbesidebesideπαράδύναμις[their] abi[their] abilityδύναμιςαὐθαίρετος[they were][they were] wilαὐθαίρετοςδύναμαιv. I am pov. I am powerfuδύναμαιμάρτυςn.m. a witn.m. a witnessμάρτυςαὐτόςPers.pr. hPers.pr. he, shαὐτόςὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςτέραςn.n. a wonn.n. a wonder, τέραςἐνεργέωv. I work,v. I work, accoἐνεργέωοἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαγινώσκωv. I come v. I come to knγινώσκωὄναρn.indcl. an.indcl. a dreaὄναρτάξιςn.f. ordern.f. order, posτάξιςμαρτυρίαn.f. witnen.f. witness, eμαρτυρίαἐμαυτοῦRefl.pr. oRefl.pr. of mysἐμαυτοῦθάλασσαn.f. the sn.f. the sea, lθάλασσαπούςn.m. the fn.m. the footπούς
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in 2 Corinthians 8:3

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
ὅτιhoti For G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὅτι (hoti) is a conjunction primarily meaning 'that' or 'because.' It introduces objective clauses, often following verbs of perception or declaration, and can also serve as a causal particle. The New Testament frequently employs it in this way, such as in Matthew 5:4-12. There is some variation in how lexicons describe its usage, particularly regarding its pleonastic function in direct discourse.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

after verbs of seeing, knowing, thinking, saying, feeling: Mt 3:9 6:32 11:25, Mk 3:28, Lk 2:49, Jo 2:22, Ac 4:13, Ro 1:13 8:38 10:9, Phl 4:15, Ja 2:24, al.; elliptically, Jo 6:46, Phl 3:12, al.

After εἶναι (γίνεσθαι): defining a demonstr. or pers. pron., Jo 3:19 16:19, Ro 9:6, I Jo 3:16 al.; c. pron. interrog., Mt 8:27, Mk 4:41,

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ὅτι [properly neut. of ὅστις], a conjunction [fr. Hom. down], (Lat. quod [ef. W. § 53,8 b.; B. § 139, 51; § 149, 87), marking I. the substance or contents (of a statement), that; 1. joined to verbs of saying and declaring (where the ace. and infin. is used in Lat.) : ἀναγγέλλειν, Acts xiv. 27; διηγεῖσθαι, Acts ix. 273; εἰπεῖν, Mt. xvi. 20; xxviii. 7,13; Jn. vii. 42; xvi. 15; 1Co.i.15; λέγειν, Mt. iii. 9; vill. 11; Mk. iii. 28; Lk. xv.7; Jn. xvi. 20; Ro. iv. 9 [T Tr WH om. L br. ὅτι}; ix. 2, and very often; προεἰρηκέναι, 2 Co. vii. 3; before the ὅτι in Acts xiv. 22 supply λέγοντες, contained in the preceding παρακαλοῦντες [ef. B. §151, 11]; ὅτι after γράφειν, 1 Co. ix.10; 1 Jn. 11. 12-14; μαρτυρεῖν, Mt. xxiii. 31; Jn. i. 34; iii. 28; iv. 44; ὁμολογεῖν, Heb. xi. 13; δεικνύειν, Mt. xvi. 21; δηλοῦν, 1 Co. i. 11; διδάσκειν, 1 Co. xi. 14. after ἐμφανίζειν. Heb. xi. 14; δῆλον (ἐστίν), 1 Co.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

οτι. (1) For ὅτι, ‘‘that,” introducing an objective clause after verbs of knowing, saying, etc., cf. P Tebt II. 4098 (A.D. 5) εἰδὼ[ς ὅ]τι ἐξίι)ουσίαν αὐτῶν ἔχει kal Λυσίμαχος kal σύ, ΚΕ knew that both you and Lysimachus had plenty of them” (Edd.), P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) νομίσας ὅτι (cf. Mt 517) κιχρᾷς por αὐτούς, ““ consider that you are lending them (sc. staters) to me’’ (Edd.), BGU III. 8464* (ii/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 93) γεινώσκειν σαι θέλω, ὅτι οὐχ [HA] Lov, ὅτι ἀναβένις (1. ἀναβαίνεις) els τὴν μητρόπολιν, “1 wish you to know that I had no hope that you were coming up to the metropolis,” 74.9 αἴγραψά σοι, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμει, “1 wrote you that I am naked,” and P Tebt II. 420+ (iii/A.D.) οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπὸ ζημίας ἠμί, ‘‘ You know that I am blameless.” Ὅτι, however, is frequently omitted, e.g. BGU IIL. 8153(ii/a.p.) γεινόσκιν σε θέλω [τὴ]ν ἐπιστολήν σου ἔλαβε (corrected by another hand…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

Epic dialect ὅττῐ (both in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: conjunction, to introduce an objective clause, that, after Verbs of seeing or knowing, thinking or saying; in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Usage:

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

I. a in [Refs 8th c.BC+] always with indicative, the tense following the same rules as in English, ἤγγειλ᾽ ὅττι ῥά οἱ πόσις ἔκτοθι μίμνε πυλάων [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I. b in Attic dialect, ὅτι takes indicative after primary tenses, indicative or optative after secondary tenses, e.g. ἐνδείκνυμαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σοφός [Refs 5th c.BC+] news came that Megara had (literal has) revolted, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: sometimes optative and indicative are found in the same sentence, ἔλεγον, ὅτι Κῦρος μὲν τέθνηκεν, Ἀριαῖος δὲ πεφευγὼς.. εἴη [Refs 5th c.BC+].. and the accusative with infinitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

redundant); causative, because:--as concerning that, as though,

because (that), for (that), how (that), (in) that, though, why.

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

originally was the neuter of ὅστις, that, Mt. 2:16, 22, 23; 6:5, 16; often used pleonastically in reciting another’s words, Mt. 9:18; Lk. 19:42; Acts 5:23; as a causal particle, for that, for, because, Mt. 2:18; 5:3, 4, 5; 13:13; because, seeing that, since, Lk. 23:40; Acts 1:17

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj — Conjunction
conjunction — it joins clauses, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for (ki (conjunction), le, from 'el (preposition), and various other words. In the New Testament also the words are various, chiefly gar, kai gar, hoti (conjunctions); anti apo eis dia (accusative), epi (dative and accusative), peri (genitive), pros (genitive and accusative), huper (genitive) (prepositions)): the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version give in many cases more literal or more accurate renderings than those in the King James Version.

In the New Testament the most important preps. from a doctrinal point of view are anti, "face to face," "over against," "instead," "on behalf of," peri, "around," "about," "concerning," huper, "over," "on behalf of." The first has been claimed as stating the substitutionary nature of Christ's sacrifice as contrasted with huper and peri, more frequently used of it. But, although anti in the New Testament often means…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%that
that64% · 856×because19% · 252×for16% · 209×other renderings1% · 12×

1,329 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,293 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιFor1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceὅτι · 1,293× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians

2 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐπ’ αὐτὴν φθάσας ἀκρότητα καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ συνεκτικώτατα τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναδιδαχθεὶς ἔγνω δή, ὅτι ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ μὲν εἶναι δραστήριον αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ παθητόν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν δραστήριον ὁ τῶν ὅλων…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.3c. AD 100

ὅτι ἀληθῶς βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου τῆς πηγῆς κυρίου πνεῦμα ἐφ̓ ὑμᾶς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
C.Erbstreit14Diospolis Magna (Theben)187 BC

καὶ τὴν εἰκοστὴν τοῦ ἐγκυκλίου καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ καθήκοντα. … ται Προῖτος, καθʼ ὅτι πρόκειται … ἑξήκοντα ἓξ τετρωβόλου καὶ τῆς … … τοπογραμματέως τοῦ Παθυρίτου … ἀρουρῶν

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

ι τοῖς ἐνκαλουμένοις τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐντεύξεως λαβεῖν παρ … τ … … πίστιν ὅτι ἀπαντησα … ἐπὶ τὸ ἐν τῆι αὐλῆι κριτήριον ἐν ἡμέραις λ οὐκ ο

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

δʼ ἐπιχειροῦντας μὴ ὑπακούειν σου … υτέραι στάσει ἐχομένους ἀσφαλισάμενος μέχρι τοῦ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὅτι τάχος ἐπιβαλεῖν πρὸς σέ. ἔρρωσοἔρρωσο ἔτους κϛ Φαμενὼθ ιϛ

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
κατὰkata according to G2596 Preposition
473× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
According to means following or matching something. In the Bible, it's used to talk about things happening in line with God's plan or will, like in Matthew 8:32 and Mark 5:13.
Amplified meaning
donated, contributed
Tyndale gloss
according to
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

κατά (kata) is a preposition used with the genitive and accusative cases, primarily meaning 'down' or 'against.' It indicates direction, motion, or relation, appearing in various contexts such as 'down from' (e.g., Mt 8:32) and 'against' (e.g., Mk 9:40). The word also conveys meanings like 'throughout' and 'according to.' Lexicons note its frequent use in the New Testament, with some variations in application.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κατά (bef. a vowel κατ’, καθ’; on the freq. neglect of elision, v. Tdf., Pr., 95; WH, App., 146a),

prep. c. gen., acc.,

down, downwards.

C. gen. (WM, § 47, k; Bl., § 42, 2).

C. gen. rei, in local sense;

down, down from: Mt 8:32, Mk 5:13, Lk 8:33, I Co 11:4;

throughout (late usage; Bl., § 42, 2): κ. ὅλης κ.τ.λ., Lk 4:14 23:5, Ac 9:31 10:37;

in a peculiar adjectival phrase: ἡ κ. βάθους πτωχεία, deep or extreme poverty, II Co 8:2.

C. gen. pers., usually in hostile sense;

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

κατά, [on its neglect of elision before a vowel see Tf. Proleg. p. 95; cf. W. § 5, 1a.; B.10; WH. App. p. 1405], a preposition denoting motion or diffusion or direction from the higher to the lower; as in class. Grk., joined with the gen. and the acc. I. With the Genitive (W. § 47, k. p. 381 (357); [B. § 147, 20]); 1. prop. a. down from, down: κατὰ κατά 8 τοῦ κρημνοῦ, Mt. viii. 32; ΜΚ. v.13; Lk. viii. 33; κατέχεεν κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς (so that it flowed down from his head [οἷς W. 381 (357) note]; but it is more correct here to omit κατά with LT Tr WH; see καταχέω), Mk. xiv. 3; hence κατὰ κεφαλῆς (a veil hanging down from his head) ἔχων, 1 Co. xi. 4 ([Δ. V. having his head covered] cf. καταπέτασμα [or rather κάλυμμα (q. v.), but 566 ἔχω I. 1b.]). Ὁ. down upon (down into) anything: Acts xxvii. 14 [W. 381 (357) note!; ef. B.D. Am. ed. s. ν. Crete]; trop. 7 κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία reaching down…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

κατά, the favourite preposition of Polybius, by whom it is often used in place of ἐν, eis, and περί (Krebs Pra. p. 4), is also found with considerable variety of application in the NT, where it occurs 73 times c. gen., and 391 times c. acc. (cf. Proleg. p. 105). Brugmann (Awrze Vergletchende Grammazk, p. 479) considers that the earliest use of the word was “‘along ” something, so as to remain in connexion and contact with the object, and from this most of the senses found in the NT can be derived. I. (1) Turning to the construction c. gen. we find that the meaning ‘‘along” has passed into ‘‘down,” a usage not found in ΜΟΥ, in such passages as P Petr II. 18(26)!° (B.c. a ἐπιπεσὼν ἔτυπτεν [ad]t[o]v κατὰ τοῦ τραχήλου, Chest. τοῦ πνοήν: ἐξ Mt 8%, r Cor 114, 2 Cor 8%. (2) This in turn becomes ‘‘ against,” as in Mt τοῦδ, Mk 14°5, e.g. P Eleph 115 (B.c. 311-0) (= Se/ections, p. 4) ὅπου ἂν…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

κατά (kata) — according to.

κατά [κᾰτᾰ],

poetry καταί accusative to [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: preposition with genitive or accusative:— downwards.

__A WITH GEN.,

__A.I denoting motion from above, down from, βῆ δὲ κατ᾽ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων, κατ᾽ Ἰδαίων ὀρέων, βαλέειν κ. πέτρης, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; καθ᾽ ἵππων ἀΐξαντε[Refs 5th c.BC+] — for κατ᾽ ἄκρης see.{ἄκρα}: Μοῖσα κ. στόματος Χέε νέκταρ [Refs 3rd c.BC+]

__A.II denoting downward motion,

__A.II.1 down upon or over, κ. Χθονὸς ὄμματα πήξας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of the dying, κατὰ.. ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτ᾽ ἀχλύς a cloud settled upon the eyes, [Refs]; φᾶρος κὰκ κεφαλῆς εἴρυσσε down over.. , [Refs 8th c.BC+]; [κόπρος] κ. σπείους κέχυτο.. πολλή [Refs]; ὕδωρ κ. Χειρός, see at {Χεί; μύρον κ. τῆς κεφαλῆς καταχέαντες} [Refs…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

κατά

kata

a primary particle; (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in

varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or

accusative) with which it is joined):--about, according as (to),

after, against, (when they were) X alone, among, and, X apart, (even,

like) as (concerning, pertaining to touching), X aside, at, before,

beyond, by, to the charge of, (charita-)bly, concerning, + covered,

(dai-)ly, down, every, (+ far more) exceeding, X more excellent, for,

from ... to, godly, in(-asmuch, divers, every, -to, respect of), ...

by, after the manner of, + by any means, beyond (out of) measure, X

mightily, more, X natural, of (up-)on (X part), out (of every), over

against, (+ your) X own, + particularly, so, through(-oughout,

-oughout every), thus, (un-)to(-gether, -ward), X uttermost,

where(-by), with. In composition it retains many of these

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Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

κατά

Prep.

down from, against, according to, throughout, during

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

κατά kata 473x

down from, Mt. 8:32; down upon, upon, Mk. 14:3; Acts 27:14; down into; κατὰ βάθους, profound, deepest, 2 Cor. 8:2; down over, throughout a space, Lk. 4:14; 23:5; concerning, in cases of pointed allegation, 1 Cor. 15:15; against, Mt. 12:30; by, in oaths, Mt. 26:63; with an acc. of place, in the quarter of, about, near, at, Lk. 10;32; Acts 2:10; throughout, Read the full entry →

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep — Preposition
preposition — its sense depends on the case of the word it governs.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PREP PREPosition

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
45%according to
according to45% · 215×against12% · 57×in9% · 42×every5% · 24×by5% · 23×on3% · 13×other renderings15% · 72×other renderings7% · 34×

480 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 48 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial86%object5%predicate5%subject3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 473 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,πᾶςall, the whole, ἄνθρωποςa man, one of th
αὐτός
ποιέωI do, makeγυνήa woman, wife, mλαλέωI speak, say
καίand, even, also, nam
ἑκατόνIndecμέγαςσύ
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,ἀλλάbut, exceptἔρχομαιI come, go
ἐγώ
μετάσυλλαμβάνωI seize, appreheγίνομαιI come into bein
κατάaccording to473×
what comes after →
Article the
νόμοςa law, the Mosaiἔργονwork, labor, actαὐτός
σάρξflesh, body
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ζάωI liveοὐNeg
ἴδιοςone’s own, private,
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,δέbut, on the othe
ἡμέραa day
ἐνεἰμίI am, existκαίand, even, also,
αὐτός
ὅπωςhow, in order thκαίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speak

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceκατά · 473× in the New Testament
Acts Romans Luke Hebrews Matthew 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Ephesians Mark Galatians Colossians Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 3c. AD 40

ἡ δ’ ἀρχή, καθάπερ ἔφην, ἐστὶ θαυμασιωτάτη κοσμοποιίαν περιέχουσα, ὡς καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τῷ κόσμῳ συνᾴδοντος καὶ τοῦ νομίμου ἀνδρὸς εὐθὺς ὄντος κοσμοπολίτου πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως τὰς πράξεις ἀπευθύνοντος, καθ’ ἣν καὶ ὁ σύμπας…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.7c. AD 75–95

ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ μείζων ἦν ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου περιβολή, κατʼ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον χωρίσας ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀρχαῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ τέλει τὴν γραφὴν συνεμέτρησα·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.2c. AD 100

Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν: οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 2nd c. BC 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἐπρίατο Πετεαρσεμθεὺς Πανοβχούνιος ὡς ἐτῶν μ χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δύο . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Πετεαρσεμθεὺς ὁ ἀποδόμενος, ὃν ἐδέξατο Πετεαρσεμθεὺς ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας ὁ

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ἐπρίατο Πακοῖβις Πατοῦτος ὡς ἐτῶν λ χαλκοῦ δραχμῶν τρισχιλίων . προπωληταὶ καὶ βεβαιωταὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Νεχούτης καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀποδόμενοι, ὃν ἐδέξατο Πακοῖβις

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

μελίχρως τετανὸς μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς δισχιλίας καὶ διακοσίας . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων Πανοβχοῦνις ὁ ἀποδόμενος, ὃν ἐδέξατο Εὔνους ὁ πριάμενος. Ἑρμίας ὁ

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
δύναμιν,dunamis [their] ability, G1411 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
119× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Power or strength, like miraculous ability, as seen in Matthew 25:15 and Acts 3:12, referring to the power to perform miracles or great deeds.
Amplified meaning
power, capacity
Tyndale gloss
power
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δύναμις (dunamis) refers to power, might, or strength, derived from δύναμαι (dynamai). It encompasses various meanings, including the ability to perform actions, miraculous power, and authority. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts related to God's power, miracles, and the strength of individuals (e.g., Mt 25:15, Ac 1:8). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — τέρας, σημεῖον, δύναμις, μεγαλεῖον, ἔνδοξον, παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον from a scan

παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον. THESE words have this in common, that they are all used to characterize the supernatural works wrought by Christ in the days of his flesh; thus σημεῖον, John ii. 11; Acts ii. 19; τέρας, Acts ii. 22; John iv. 48; δύναμις, Mark vi. 2 ; Acts ii. 22; μεγαλεῖον, Luke i. 49; ἔνδοξον, Luke xiii. 17; παράδοξον, Luke v. 26; θαυμάσιον, Matt. xxi. 15 ; while the first three and the most usual are in like manner employed of the same supernatural works wrought in the power of Christ by his Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 12); and of the lying miracles of Antichrist no less (2 Thess. ii. 9). They will be found, on closer examination, not so much to represent different kinds of miracles, as miracles contemplated under different aspects and from different points of view. Tépas and σημεῖον are often linked together in the N. T. (John iv. 48; Acts ii. 22; iv. 30; 2 Cor. xii. 12); and times…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δύναμις, -εως, ἡ

(< δύναμαι),

[in LXX chiefly for חַיִל (חֵיל) , ץָבָא, גְּבוּרָה, עֹו, etc.; 35 words in all;]

power, might, strength; relatively, ability, power to perform: Mt 25:15, Ac 3:2, He 11:11;

κατὰ δ., II Co 8:3;

παρὰ δ., ib. ;

ὑπὲρ δ., II Co 1:8; of pecuniary ability, II Co 8:3, Re 18:3; absol., power, might: Lk 24:49, Ac 1:8;

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

δύναμις, -ews, 7; [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for on, 77931, ty, MD, 8I¥ (an army, a host); strength, ability, power ; a. univ. inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth: Lk. i.17; Acts iv. 7; 1 Co. iv. 20; 2 Co. iv. 7; xii. 9 (ἡ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται [RG τελειοῦται ]) ; xiii. 4; 1 ΤῊ. 1. 5; Heb. vii. 16; xi.34; Rev. i. 16; xvii. 13; ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει, Acts iii. 12; μεγάλῃ δυνάμει, Acts iv. 33; ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν, Mt. xxv. 15; ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, beyond our power, 2 Co. i. 8; ἐν δυνάμει se. ὦν, endued with power, Lk. iv. 36; 1 Co. xv. 43; so in the phrase ἔρχεσθαι ἐν δυνάμει, Mk. ix. 1; powerfully, Col. i. 29; 2 Th. i. 11; contextually i.q. evidently, Ro. i. 4; ἐν δυνάμει σημείων x. τεράτων, through the power which I exerted upon their souls by performing miracles, Ro. xv. 19 ; dvr. eis τι; Heb. xi. 11; δύν. ἐπὶ…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

δύναμις. For the more ordinary meanings of δύναμις we may cite such passages as P. Oxy 11. 292° (c. A.D. 25) (= Selections, p. 37) διὸ παρακαλῶ ce μετὰ πάσης δυνάμεως ἔχειν αὐτὸν συνεσταμένον, ‘wherefore I beg you with all my power to hold him as one recommended to you,” 74. VI. 8998 (A.D. 200) ἐς ὅσον μὲν οὖν δύναμίς μοι ὑπῆρχεν, ‘as long as I had the power,”’ 74. 9404 (v/A.p.) τὴν τῶν ἄλλων μερίδων δύναμιν, ‘* the capacity of the other holdings ” (Edd.), and, for a Christian example, 76. VIII. 1150° (a prayer— Vi/A.D.) 6 003 . . . δεῖξον τὴν δύναμ[ίν cov. In P Petr II. 3(2)? we have παρὰ δύναμιν, and κατὰ ϑύναμιν, ‘according to one’s means,” asin 2 Cor 8%, is very common, especially in marriage contracts, as when in BGU IV. ros5o!4 (time of Augustus) a certain Dionysius undertakes τρέφειν kal ἱματίζειν τὴν ᾿Ισιδώραν ὡς γυναῖκα γαμετὴν] κατὰ δύναμιν. 105177 (same date) we have the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δύναμις (dunamis) — power.

δύνᾰμις [ῠ], ἡ,

genitive εως, Ionic dialect ιος, Ionic dialect dative δυνάμι: (δύναμαι):— power, might, in [Refs 8th c.BC+], especially of bodily strength, εἴ μοι δ. γε παρείη [Refs 8th c.BC+]: generally, strength, power, ability to do anything, πὰρ δύναμιν beyond one's strength, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; opposed to κατὰ δ. as far as lies in one, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. outward power, influence, authority, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν δ. εἶναι, γενέσθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. force for war, forces, δ. ἀνδρῶν [LXX+5th c.BC+]; μετὰ δυνάμεων ἱκανῶν Wilcken [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; δ. καὶ πεζὴ καὶ ἱππικὴ καὶ ναυτική [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πέντε δυνάμεσι πεφρουρημένον, of the five projecting rows of sarissae in the phalanx, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δύναμις

dunamis

from 1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous

power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):--ability, abundance,

meaning, might(-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power,

strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

see GREEK for 1410

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δύναμις, εως, ἡ

n.f.

might, power, marvelous works

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δύναμις dynamis 119x

power; strength, ability, Mt. 25:15; Heb. 11:11; efficacy, 1 Cor. 4:19, 20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:5; energy, Col. 1:29; 2 Tim. 1:7; meaning, purport of language, 1 Cor. 14:11; authority, Lk. 4:36; 9:1; might, power, majesty, Mt. 22:29; 24:30; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δύναμις from δύναμαι power, might, strength, Hom.: then, generally, strength, power, ability to do a thing, id. Hom.; παρὰ δύναμιν beyond one's strength, Thuc.; ὑπὲρ δ. Dem.; κατὰ δ. as far as lies in one, Lat. pro virili, Hdt.

power, might, authority, Aesch., etc.

a force for war, forces, Xen.

a quantity, Lat. vis, χρημάτων δ. Hdt., etc.

a power, faculty, capacity, αἱ τοῦ σώματος δυνάμεις Plat., etc.; also of plants, etc., Xen.

the force or meaning of a word, Plat., etc.

the worth or value of money, Thuc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASF — Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-bil'-i-ti (dunamis, or ischus): Variously used of resources, material, mental and spiritual; e.g. of wealth, "gave after their ability" (Ezr 2:69); of mental endowment, "ability to stand in the king's palace" (Da 1:4); of talents and character, "several ability" (Mt 25:15); of spiritual strength, "minister, as of the ability which God giveth" (the King James Version 1Pe 4:11). It thus may signify either possessions, native capacity, or gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
73%power
power73% · 88×miracles13% · 15×powers4% · 5×ability3% · 3×other renderings4% · 5×other renderings3% · 4×

120 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial44%object25%subject25%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 119 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,γίνομαιI come into beinμηδέNeg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐξουσίαpower, authorityπνεῦμαwind, breath, spσύ
ἐν
ἀλλάbut, exceptἔρχομαιI come, goθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἐκδίδωμιI offer, giveἀΐδιοςeternal
μετά
νεφέληa cloudοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
δύναμις[their] ability,119×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godγίνομαιI come into beinοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
καίand, even, also, nam
δόξαhonor, renown, gἔρχομαιI come, goἐξουσίαpower, authority
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅτιthat, since, becεἰς
θεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, existδιάκαίand, even, also,
πολύςmuch, many, often
ποιέωI do, makeδιάκαίand, even, also,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceδύναμις · 119× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Luke Matthew Revelation 2 Corinthians Acts Mark Romans Hebrews Ephesians 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 207 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch The Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦθ’ ἡσυχαστέον, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐπιτολμητέον λέγειν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδέν, ὀλίγα δ’ ἀντὶ πολλῶν, ἐφ’ ἃ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν φθάνειν εἰκὸς ἔρωτι καὶ πόθῳ σοφίας κατεσχημένην.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 20.1c. AD 100

ὁδὸς γάρ ἐστιν θανάτου αἰωνίου μετὰ τιμωρίας, ἐν ᾖ ἐστιν τὰ ἀπολλύντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν: εἰδωλολατρεία, θρασύτης, ὕψος δυνάμεως, ὑπόκρισις, διπλοκαρδία, μοιχεία, φόνος, ἁρπαγή, ὑπερηφανία, παράβασις, δόλος, κακία, αὐθάδεια, φαρμακεία, μαγεία,…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 8th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD
P. Lond. 2 p. XXVIII no. 294 descr.Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 117–AD 118

τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα καθήκει γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν τοῦ βίου ἐνδημοῦντος καὶ ἀποδημοῦντος αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς Κρονίας ἄμεμπτον καὶ ἀκατηγόρητον ἑαυτὴν παρεχομένης

ZPE 34 (1979), p. 119-130Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 153

Πασίωνος ἐπιχορηγοῦντος αὐτῇ τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν ὡς ἐπὶ γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν τοῦ βίου· καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ χωρισμοῦ ἀποδώσει ὁ Πασίων τῇ Χαιρημονίδι τὴν προκιμένην φερνήν,

P.Mil.Vogl. 2 71Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 172–AD 175

τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα καθήκει γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν, αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς Τεφορσάϊτος τῆς καὶ Εὐδαιμονίδος ἄμεμπτον καὶ ἀκατηγόρητον ἑαυτὴν παρεχομένης ἐν τῇ

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
μαρτυρῶ,martureō I testify [that], G3140 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
76× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in 2 Corinthians than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To testify means to be a witness or give evidence, as seen in John and Acts where people testify about Jesus and their faith.
Amplified meaning
bear witness, give evidence
Tyndale gloss
to testify
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μαρτυρέω is built from the root μάρτυς, meaning to bear witness or testify. It encompasses a range of meanings from simply giving testimony to affirming one's knowledge of something, often through divine revelation. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including the testimony of Jesus and the apostles. Some lexicons note its judicial sense in ancient texts, while others emphasize its broader application in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μαρτυρέω, -ῶ

(< μάρτυς),

[in LXX chiefly for עֵד (Ge 31:47, 48, al.), also for עוּד hi. (Ge 43:3, La 2:13), ענה (Nu 35:30);]

prop., to be a witness, bear witness, testify: absol. (Pind., al.), Jo 15:27, Ac 26:5; parenthetical (Bl., § 79, 7; MM, xvi), II Co 8:3; c. dat. pers. (comm. et incomm.; Bl., § 37, 2), Ac 22:5, He 10:15; id. seq. ὅτι, Mt 23:31, Ro 10:2, al.; acc. et inf., Ac 10:43; c. acc. rei (cl.), Jo 3:11, Re 22:16, 20; c. acc.…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

μαρτυρέω, -ὦ; impf. 3 pers. plur. ἐμαρτύρουν ; fut. μαρτυρήσω; 1 aor. ἐμαρτύρησα; pf. μεμαρτύρηκα; Pass., pres. μαρτυροῦμαι; impf. ἐμαρτυροῦμην ; pf. μεμαρτύρημαι; 1 aor. ἐμαρτυρήθην ; ἔτ. [Simon., Pind.], Aeschyl., Hdt. down; to be a witness, to bear witness, testify, i. 6. to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that (so in the N. T.) he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration, (sometimes in the N. T. the apostles are said μαρτυρεῖν, as those who had been eyeand ear- witnesses of the extraordinary sayings, deeds and sufferings of Jesus, which proved his Messiahship ; so too Paul, as one to whom the risen Christ had visibly appeared; cf. Jn. xv. 27; xix. 35; xxi. 24; Acts xxiii. 11; 1 Co.xv. 15; 1Jn.i. 2, cf. Acts i. 22sq.; ii. 325 111. 15; iv. 33; v. 32; x. 39,41; χῆϊ 31; xxvi. 16; [cf. Westcott, (“Speaker's”) Com. on Jn., Introd. p. xlv.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μαρτυρέω. The common occurrence of this word after a signature, just as we write “witness,” e.g. P Oxy I. 10528 (a will— A.D. 117-137) Σαραπίων Zapartwvos . . μαρτυρῶ, P Lond 1164 (7)35 (records of sales and receipts—A.D. 212) (= III. p. 162) ἩΗλιόϊδ]ωρος . . . μαρτυρῶ, P Grenf II. 682! f (deed of gift—a.p. 247) Αὐρήλιος Piocdpams . . μαρτ[υρ]ῶ. Αὐρήλιος Appovios . . μαρτυρῶ, may be cited in illustration of the Pauline usage in 2 Cor 883, The verb has again a judicial sense in P Amh II. 6655 (a.p. 124) Στοτοήτιος λέγοντος . . . παρεῖναι τοὺς μαρτυρῆσαι δυναμένους τὸ[ν] φόν[ο]ν, ““ Stotoétis stated that there were present persons able to witness to the murder” (Edd.), cf. 38 For the more general meaning, ‘‘bear witness to,” *‘report,’’ cf. PSI 1. 94° (ii/aA.D.) πρὸς τὸ μαρτυρῆσαι ὑμεῖν τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν pov, P Oxy VII. τοῦ413 (iii/a.p.) γράφω σοι. ὅπως συνλάβῃς τῷ “Are. . ξενίαν δὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μαρτυρέω (martureō) — to testify.

μαρτῠρ-έω,

future -ήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, future μαρτυρηθήσομαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]; μαρτυρήσομαι in passive sense, [Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἐμαρτυρήθην: perfect μεμαρτύρημαι [Refs 5th c.BC+], used in active sense, [LXX]:—bear witness, give evidence:—Constr.:

1. absolutely, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. with dative person, bear witness to or in favour of another, confirm what he says, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μαρτυρέει μοι τῇ γνώμῃ, ὅτι.. bears witness to my opinion, that.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially bear favourable witness to, give a good report of a person, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; πάντες ἐμαρτύρουν αὐτῷ [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. with accusative of things, testify to a thing, [Refs 7th c.BC+]

4. μ. περί τινος [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μαρτυρέω

martureo

from 3144; to be a witness, i.e. testify (literally or

figuratively):--charge, give (evidence), bear record, have (obtain,

of) good (honest) report, be well reported of, testify, give (have)

testimony, (be, bear, give, obtain) witness.

see GREEK for 3144

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μαρτυρέω

v.

I witness, testify

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μαρτυρέω martyreō 76x

trans. to testify, depose, Jn. 3:11, 32; 1 Jn. 1:2; Rev. 1:2; 22:20; absol. to give evidence, Jn. 18:23; to bear testimony, testify, Lk. 4:22; Jn. 1:7, 8; to bear testimony in confirmation, Acts 14:3; to declare distinctly and formally, Jn. 4:44; pass. to be the subject of testimony, to obtain attestation to character, Acts 6:3; 10:22; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μαρτυρέω μάρτυς to be a witness, to bear witness, give evidence, bear testimony, Simon., etc.: c. dat. pers. to bear witness to or in favour of another, Hdt., attic; μαρτυρέει μοι τῆι γνώμηι bears witness to my opinion, Hdt.

c. acc. rei, to bear witness to a thing, testify it, Soph., etc.

c. inf. to testify that a thing is, id. Soph.; τίς σοι μαρτυρήσει κλύειν; who will bear thee witness that he heard..? id. Soph.

c. acc. cogn., μ. ἀκοήν to give hearsay evidence, Dem.:—so in Pass., μαρτυρίαι μαρτυρηθεῖσαι id. Soph.

Pass. also impers., μαρτυρεῖται testimony is borne, Plat.; οἶδα μαρτυρήσεσθαι I know that testimony will be given, Xen.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1S — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-1S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
12%bearing witness
bearing witness12% · 9×bear witness10% · 8×testify6% · 5×bears witness4% · 3×i bear witness4% · 3×testifying4% · 3×testified4% · 3×bore witness3% · 2×other renderings53% · 41×

77 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 44 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb97%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 76 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰμίI am, existμαθητήςa learner, disciκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
καίand, even, also, nam
ὁράωI see, look uponἸωάννηςJohnἐμαυτοῦ
ὅς
μαρτυρίαwitness, evidencδιά
ἐγώ
σύἐάνCondὅτιthat, since, bec
ἵναin order that, so th
μαρτυρίαwitness, evidencἀλλάbut, exceptκόσμοςthe world, unive
μαρτυρέωI testify [that],76×
what comes after →
περί
ἐγώArticle theἐμαυτοῦ
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakArticle theοὗτος
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakἀληθινόςtrue, real, genu
Article the
ἀλήθειαtruthμαρτυρίαwitness, evidencπρεσβύτεροςelder
ὑπό
Article theπᾶςall, the whole,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceμαρτυρέω · 76× in the New Testament
John Acts Hebrews 1 John 3 John Revelation 1 Timothy Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Colossians Galatians
Across the New Testament14 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 8 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 100c. AD 40

μαρτυρεῖ δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ καὶ Φιλόλαος ἐν τούτοις·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.240c. AD 75–95

μαρτυρεῖ δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ πολυίστωρ λέγων οὕτως·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 15.4c. AD 100

αὐτὸς δέ μοι μαρτυρεῖ λέγων: Ἰδού, ἡμέρα κυρίου ἔσται ὡς χίλια ἔτη.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD
P. Cairo Cat. 10389 descr.Pathyrites114 BC–113 BC

τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων … … Ἀμμώνιος ὁ παρ' Ἡλιοδώρου κεχρη­μάτικα. ἐμαρτύρησεν Ταστῖς Φαγήριος Περσίνη ὡς ἐτῶν … … τῆς προγεγραμμένης ὠνῆς.

P.Mil.Vogl. 2 84Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 138

Ἁρποχράτου. ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Ὀννῶφρις Θ … ξωσεως μὴ εἰδότος τὰ γράμματα. Ἵππαλος Χράτους μαρτυρῶ καὶ σφραγιῶ γλύμματι Ἁρποχράτου. Σωτήριχος Εὐτύχου μαρτυρῶ καὶ σφραγιῶ γλύμματι Σεραπιαδος. Κρονίων Τυράννου μαρτυρῶ

P.Flor. 2 173Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 253

καὶ οἰνάρια ἐπιτήδεια καὶ δελφάκιον καὶ ἀρτίδια καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἀλλʼ ἵνα μοι μαρτυρήσῃ καὶ τὴν ξενίαν δὲ ἐχέτω καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐνδέχεται. ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι Ἡρωνίνῳ

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

καί (kai) is a conjunction meaning 'and,' used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. It serves various functions, including copulative and adjunctive uses, and can express cumulative ideas like 'also' or 'even.' The New Testament frequently employs it to link terms and sentences, as seen in verses like Matthew 2:18 and John 10:3. Abbott-Smith notes its use in both simple and complex structures, while Thayer emphasizes its role as the most common particle in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

in general: Mt 2:18 16:1, Mk 2:15, Lk 8:15, He 1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mt 23:23, Lk 14:21, Ro 7:12 9:4, al.;

connecting numerals (WM, § 37, 4): Jo 2:20, Ac 13:20;

joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mt 8:33 26:59, Mk 16:17,

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

καί, a conj., and; the most freq. by far of all the particles in the N. T. [On its uses see W. § 53, 3sqq.; B. 361 (310) sqq., and ef. Ellicott on Phil. iv. 12; on the difference between it and τέ see 8. v. τέ ad init. ] I. It serves as a copulative i.e. to connect (Lat. et, atque, Germ. und) ; 1. it connects single words or terms: a. univ., as of Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι, Mt. xvi. 1; ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατήρ, he who is God and Father (see θεός, 3); ἐν καρδίᾳ καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ, Lk. viii. 15; πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως, ΗΘ}. 1. 1; it is repeated before single terms, to each of which its own force and weight is thus given: ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ai διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι, Ro. ix. 4 ; ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή, Ro. vii. 12; add, Mt. xxiii. 23; Lk. xiv. 21; Jn. xvi. 8; Acts xv. 20, 29; xxi. 25; Heb. ix. 10; Rey. v. 12; xviii. 12 sq.; ef. W. 519 sq. (484). b. it…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

και. In LAE p. 129 ff. Deissmann discusses the thoroughly popular character of the Johannine style with its short paratactic sentences, introduced by kal. . . καί. To illustrate this, he cites amongst other exx. a Dream from the Serapeum, P Par 51 (B.C. 160) (= Selections, p. 18 ff. : see especially the amended readings in Archiv vi. p. 204), which runs—** ὦμ[ην] βατί -- δ)ίζειν pe [ἀπ]ὸ λειβὸς ἕως ἀ[ πηλι]ώτου, καὶ ἀναπίπτομαι ἐπ᾿ ἄχυρον" καὶ [ἄν]θρωπ[ος9] ἀπὸ λιβός μου, ἐχόμενός μου’ ἀναπίπτει καὶ αὐτός, καὶ ὥσπερ κεκλειμμ[évot] μου ἦσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, καὶ ἐξαί[φνης] ἀνύγω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς pov, καὶ ὁρῶ kTA., “ I dreamed that I was going from West to East, and I lie down upon chaff. And there | αὐτὸ (deleted in the original) Σεμφθεῖ. | ἐκ καινῆς ἐν Σομολ(ῶ)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

__A and; also adverb, even, also, just, frequently expressing emphatic assertion or assent, corresponding as positive to the negative οὐ (μή) or οὐδέ (μηδέ). copulative, and,

__A.I joining words or sentences to those preceding, ἦ, καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ὀφρύσινεῦσε Κρονίων [Refs 8th c.BC+]: repeated with two or more Nouns, αἱ δὲ ἔλαφοι κ. δορκάδες κ. οἱ ἄγριοι οἶες κ. οἱ ὄνοι οἱ ἄγριοι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; joining only the last pair, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ ὄχλος πλείων κ. πλείων ἐπέρρει more and more, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to add epithets after πολύς, πολλὰ κ. ἐσθλά [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also

a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in

connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and,

also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when,

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

(1) and, Mt. 2:2, 3, 11; 4:22; (2) καί ... καί, both ... and; (3) as a cumulative particle, also, too, Mt. 5:39; Jn. 8:19; 1 Cor. 11:6; (4) emphatic, even, also, Mt. 10:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; in NT adversative, but, Mt. 11:19; also introductory of the apodosis of a sentence, Gal. 3:28; Jas. 2:4

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj — Conjunction
conjunction — it joins clauses, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
89%and
and89% · 8448×also8% · 714×other renderings2% · 191×other renderings1% · 124×

9,477 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 42 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%subject13%object10%predicate3%verb2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 8,978 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
ἐνἐπίπρός
σύ
χάριςgrace, favor, kiπρόςπατήρfather, Father,
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, πρόςθεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
θεόςGod, a god
Article theθέλημαwill, wish, desiδέbut, on the othe
καίand8978×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherπατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theπρός
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existμήNegδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theαὐτόςἀνήρa male human bei
ἐν
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceκαί · 8,978× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Revelation Acts Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

3 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

1 ἔτους ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
παρὰhuper beside G3844 Preposition
192× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in 2 Corinthians than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Means 'from' or 'beside', indicating the source or origin of something, as seen in Mark 14:43 and John 15:26. It can also mean 'at' or 'in the vicinity of' something. Used to show the relationship between people or things.
Tyndale gloss
from/with/beside
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

παρά is a preposition that conveys the idea of proximity, meaning 'beside' or 'from the side of.' It can take the genitive, dative, or accusative case, indicating source, location, or motion towards something. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts involving relationships, such as 'his family' (Mk 3:21) or 'from God' (Jn 9:16). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

παρά, prep. c. gen., dat., acc.,

with radical sense, beside.

C. gen. pers., from the side of, from beside, from, indicating source or origin, [in LXX for מֵאֵצֶל, מִיַד, מִלִּפְנֵי;] after verbs of motion, Mk 14:43, Lk 8:49, Jo 15:26, al.; after verbs of seeking, receiving, hearing, etc., Mk 8:11 12:2, Jo 4:9, 52 10:18, Phl 4:18, II Ti 1:18, Ja 1:7, al.; after passive verbs, of the agent (like ὑπό), Mt 21:42, Mk 12:11, Lk 1:37; absol., οἱ παρ’ αὐτοῦ, his family, his kinsfolk, Read the full entry →

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

παρά, [it neglects elision before prop. names beginning with a vowel, and (at least in Tdf.’s text) before some other words; see Tdf. Proleg. p. 95, cf. W. § 5, 1 a.; B. 10], a preposition indicating close proximity, with various modifications corresponding to the various cases with which it is joined; ef. Viger. ed. Herm. p. 643 sqq.; Matthiae § 588; Bnhdy. p. 255 sqq.; Ktihner § 440; Kriiger § 68, 34-36. It is joined I. with the GenitIvE; and as in Grk. prose writ. always with the gen. of a person, to denote that a thing proceeds from the side or the vicinity of one, or from one’s sphere of power, or from one’s wealth or store, Lat. a, ab; Germ.von ... her, von neben; French de chez; [Eng. from beside, from]; Sept. for *339D, 7°, Syxn (1S. xvii. 30); cf. W. 364 (342) sq- a. properly, with a suggestion of union of place or of residence, after verbs of coming, departing, setting out…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

παρά is found in the NT c. gen. (78 times), c. dat. (50 times), and c. acc. (60 times): see Proleg. p. 106. All these constructions can be freely illustrated from our sources. (1) c. gen. indicating source or origin ‘‘ from the side of,” “*from,’’ used of persons after verbs of receiving etc.: Ostr 10278 (Ptol.) (= LAZ, p. 152) ἀπέχω παρὰ σοῦ τὸ ἐπιβάλλον (cf. Lk 1515) μοι ἐκφόριον, “1 have received from you the fruit that falleth to me,” P Petr 11. τι (1)° (mid. iii/B.c.) = Witkowski’, p. 8) γίνωσκε δέ pe ἔχοντα παρὰ Φιλωνίδου (δραχμὰς) o, P Eleph 13? (B.C. 223-2) (= Witkowski’, p. 42) παραγενομένου Lav@tos ἐκομισάμην τὴν παρὰ cov ἐπιστολήν, P Tebt II. 28322 (B.c. 93 or 60) τούτου δὲ γενομ[έϊνου ἔσομαι τετευχὼς [TH]s Tapa cod ἀντιλήμψεως, ‘* for if this is done I shall have obtained succour from you” (Edd.), P Oxy IV. 742? (B.c. 2) παράλαβε παρὰ Πόθου τὸν κάλαμ[ο]ν πανα[ρ]ιθμῶι, ‘take…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

παρά (para) — from/with/beside.

πᾰρά [ρᾰ],

Epic dialect and Lyric poetry also παραί: shortened πάρ, in [Refs 8th c.BC+], Lyric poetry (but rarely in Trag., in Lyric poetry passages, [Refs 5th c.BC+], and in all dial ects except Attic dialect, [Refs 4th c.BC+], etc.:—preposition with genitive, dative, and accusative, properly beside: hence,

__A WITH GEN. properly denoting motion from the side of, from beside, from:

__A.I of Place, πὰρ νηῶν ἔλθωμεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; πλευρὰ παρ᾽ ἀσπίδος ἐξεφαάνθη was exposed beside the shield,[Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.II commonly of Persons,

__A.II.1 with Verbs of going or coming, bringing, etc., ἦλθε.. πὰρ Διός [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὁ π. τινὸς ἥκων his messenger, [NT+5th c.BC+]; τεύχεα καλὰ φέρουσα παρ᾽ Ἡφαίστοιο from his workshop, [Refs 8th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

παρά

para

a primary preposition; properly, near; i.e. (with genitive case) from

beside (literally or figuratively), (with dative case) at (or in) the

vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case) to

the proximity with (local (especially beyond or opposed to) or causal

(on account of):--above, against, among, at, before, by, contrary to,

X friend, from, + give (such things as they), + that (she) had,

X his, in, more than, nigh unto, (out) of, past, save,

side...by, in the sight of, than, (there-)fore, with. In compounds it

retains the same variety of application.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

παρά

Prep.

from, in the presence of

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

παρά para 194x

(1) gen., from, indicating source or origin, Mt. 2:4, 7; Mk. 8:11; Lk. 2:1; οἱ παρ’ αὐτοῦ, his relatives or kinsmen, Mk. 3:21; τὰ παρ’ αὐτῆς πάντα, all her substance, property, etc., Mk. 5:26. (2) dat., with, in, among, etc., Mt. 6:1; 19:26; 21:25; 22:25; παρ’ ἑαυτῷ, at home, 1 Cor. 16:2; in the sight of, in the judgment or estimation of, 1 Cor. 3:19; 2 Pet. 2:11; 3:8. (3) acc., motion, by, near…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

παρά from the side of, c. gen., beside, alongside of, c. dat., to the side of, motion alongside of, c. acc.

prep. with gen., dat., and acc.: Radical sense beside:

WITH GENIT. from the side of, from beside: from, φάσγανον ὀξὺ ἐρυσσάμενος παρὰ μηροῦ Il.

commonly of Persons, ἦλθε πὰρ Διός id. Il.; ἀγγελίη ἥκει παρὰ βασιλῆος Hdt.; ὁ παρά τινος ἥκων his messenger, Xen.

issuing from a person, γίγνεσθαι παρά τινος to be born from him, Plat.; when it follows a Noun, a particip. may be supplied, ἡ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων δόξα glory from (given by) men, id. Plat.; τὸ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἀδίκημα done by me, Xen.; παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ διδόναι to give from oneself, i. e. from one's own means, Hdt.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep — Preposition
preposition — its sense depends on the case of the word it governs.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-sid': Near to, or close to (Ps 23:2). It is often used to refer to the mental state, to the derangement of the mind (existemi, Mr 3:21; Ac 26:24 the King James Version). Or it may refer to the condition of being out of the ordinary course of the life. A life consecrated to God and spent in the interest of humanity is so designated (2Co 5:13). It has the sense also of a state of being out of one's usual mind, but not of mental derangement, occasioned by something that causes amazement or ast onishment (Mr 5:42). Or it may refer to a state in which one is not conscious of present conditions, but is rapt in vision (

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
36%from
from36% · 71×with21% · 40×by7% · 13×at5% · 9×beside5% · 9×contrary to3% · 6×beyond3% · 6×than3% · 6×other renderings18% · 35×

195 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 26 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial84%predicate7%object5%subject4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 192 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰμίI am, existἀκούωI hear, listenδαπανάωI spend, bear ex
αὐτός
ῥίπτωI throw, cast, tγίνομαιI come into beinλέγωI say, speak
εἰμίI am, exist
ἀδύνατοςincapable, imposκαίand, even, also,ἸουδαῖοςJewish
ἀκούωI hear, listen
ὅςArticle the
τὶς
βραχύςshort, littleἔρχομαιI come, goπροσδοκάωI expect, await
παράbeside192×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, ὁδόςa way, road, jou
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oποῦIrg
σύ
μένωI remain, abideεἰμίI am, existἐξέρχομαιI go out, come o
ἐγώ
Article theἑπτάIndecπίνωI drink, imbibe
θεόςGod, a god
πατήρfather, Father, πᾶςall, the whole, καίand, even, also,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceπαρά · 192× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew Mark Romans Hebrews 1 Corinthians 2 Timothy Galatians James 2 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament21 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.5c. AD 100

ὁμοίως περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λέγει Δανιήλ: Καὶ εἶδον τὸ τέταρτον θηρίον τὸ πονηρὸν καὶ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ χαλεπώτερον παρὰ πάντα τὰ θηρία τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀνέτειλεν δέκα κέρατα, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν μικρὸν κέρας παραφυάδιον, καὶ ὡς ἐταπείνωσεν ὑφ̓ ἓν τρία…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Ἐπεὶφ κε. ἐν Παθύρει, ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο Πετεαρσεμθεὺς Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Τῦβι ιη ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο Νεχούτης Σχώτου τοῦ Φιμήνιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν νε

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν μηνὸς Μεσορὴ ε ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ὠνή. ἀπέδοτο Πανοβχοῦνις Παοῦτος Πέρσης τῆς ἐπιγονῆς ὡς ἐτῶν ξ μέσος μελίχρως

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
δύναμινdunamis [their] ability G1411 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
119× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Power or strength, like miraculous ability, as seen in Matthew 25:15 and Acts 3:12, referring to the power to perform miracles or great deeds.
Amplified meaning
their means, resources
Tyndale gloss
power
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δύναμις (dunamis) refers to power, might, or strength, derived from δύναμαι (dynamai). It encompasses various meanings, including the ability to perform actions, miraculous power, and authority. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts related to God's power, miracles, and the strength of individuals (e.g., Mt 25:15, Ac 1:8). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — τέρας, σημεῖον, δύναμις, μεγαλεῖον, ἔνδοξον, παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον from a scan

παράδοξον, θαυμάσιον. THESE words have this in common, that they are all used to characterize the supernatural works wrought by Christ in the days of his flesh; thus σημεῖον, John ii. 11; Acts ii. 19; τέρας, Acts ii. 22; John iv. 48; δύναμις, Mark vi. 2 ; Acts ii. 22; μεγαλεῖον, Luke i. 49; ἔνδοξον, Luke xiii. 17; παράδοξον, Luke v. 26; θαυμάσιον, Matt. xxi. 15 ; while the first three and the most usual are in like manner employed of the same supernatural works wrought in the power of Christ by his Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 12); and of the lying miracles of Antichrist no less (2 Thess. ii. 9). They will be found, on closer examination, not so much to represent different kinds of miracles, as miracles contemplated under different aspects and from different points of view. Tépas and σημεῖον are often linked together in the N. T. (John iv. 48; Acts ii. 22; iv. 30; 2 Cor. xii. 12); and times…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δύναμις, -εως, ἡ

(< δύναμαι),

[in LXX chiefly for חַיִל (חֵיל) , ץָבָא, גְּבוּרָה, עֹו, etc.; 35 words in all;]

power, might, strength; relatively, ability, power to perform: Mt 25:15, Ac 3:2, He 11:11;

κατὰ δ., II Co 8:3;

παρὰ δ., ib. ;

ὑπὲρ δ., II Co 1:8; of pecuniary ability, II Co 8:3, Re 18:3; absol., power, might: Lk 24:49, Ac 1:8;

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

δύναμις, -ews, 7; [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for on, 77931, ty, MD, 8I¥ (an army, a host); strength, ability, power ; a. univ. inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth: Lk. i.17; Acts iv. 7; 1 Co. iv. 20; 2 Co. iv. 7; xii. 9 (ἡ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται [RG τελειοῦται ]) ; xiii. 4; 1 ΤῊ. 1. 5; Heb. vii. 16; xi.34; Rev. i. 16; xvii. 13; ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει, Acts iii. 12; μεγάλῃ δυνάμει, Acts iv. 33; ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν, Mt. xxv. 15; ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, beyond our power, 2 Co. i. 8; ἐν δυνάμει se. ὦν, endued with power, Lk. iv. 36; 1 Co. xv. 43; so in the phrase ἔρχεσθαι ἐν δυνάμει, Mk. ix. 1; powerfully, Col. i. 29; 2 Th. i. 11; contextually i.q. evidently, Ro. i. 4; ἐν δυνάμει σημείων x. τεράτων, through the power which I exerted upon their souls by performing miracles, Ro. xv. 19 ; dvr. eis τι; Heb. xi. 11; δύν. ἐπὶ…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

δύναμις. For the more ordinary meanings of δύναμις we may cite such passages as P. Oxy 11. 292° (c. A.D. 25) (= Selections, p. 37) διὸ παρακαλῶ ce μετὰ πάσης δυνάμεως ἔχειν αὐτὸν συνεσταμένον, ‘wherefore I beg you with all my power to hold him as one recommended to you,” 74. VI. 8998 (A.D. 200) ἐς ὅσον μὲν οὖν δύναμίς μοι ὑπῆρχεν, ‘as long as I had the power,”’ 74. 9404 (v/A.p.) τὴν τῶν ἄλλων μερίδων δύναμιν, ‘* the capacity of the other holdings ” (Edd.), and, for a Christian example, 76. VIII. 1150° (a prayer— Vi/A.D.) 6 003 . . . δεῖξον τὴν δύναμ[ίν cov. In P Petr II. 3(2)? we have παρὰ δύναμιν, and κατὰ ϑύναμιν, ‘according to one’s means,” asin 2 Cor 8%, is very common, especially in marriage contracts, as when in BGU IV. ros5o!4 (time of Augustus) a certain Dionysius undertakes τρέφειν kal ἱματίζειν τὴν ᾿Ισιδώραν ὡς γυναῖκα γαμετὴν] κατὰ δύναμιν. 105177 (same date) we have the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δύναμις (dunamis) — power.

δύνᾰμις [ῠ], ἡ,

genitive εως, Ionic dialect ιος, Ionic dialect dative δυνάμι: (δύναμαι):— power, might, in [Refs 8th c.BC+], especially of bodily strength, εἴ μοι δ. γε παρείη [Refs 8th c.BC+]: generally, strength, power, ability to do anything, πὰρ δύναμιν beyond one's strength, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; opposed to κατὰ δ. as far as lies in one, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

2. outward power, influence, authority, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν δ. εἶναι, γενέσθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. force for war, forces, δ. ἀνδρῶν [LXX+5th c.BC+]; μετὰ δυνάμεων ἱκανῶν Wilcken [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; δ. καὶ πεζὴ καὶ ἱππικὴ καὶ ναυτική [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πέντε δυνάμεσι πεφρουρημένον, of the five projecting rows of sarissae in the phalanx, [Refs 1st…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δύναμις

dunamis

from 1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous

power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):--ability, abundance,

meaning, might(-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power,

strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

see GREEK for 1410

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δύναμις, εως, ἡ

n.f.

might, power, marvelous works

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δύναμις dynamis 119x

power; strength, ability, Mt. 25:15; Heb. 11:11; efficacy, 1 Cor. 4:19, 20; Phil. 3:10; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:5; energy, Col. 1:29; 2 Tim. 1:7; meaning, purport of language, 1 Cor. 14:11; authority, Lk. 4:36; 9:1; might, power, majesty, Mt. 22:29; 24:30; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δύναμις from δύναμαι power, might, strength, Hom.: then, generally, strength, power, ability to do a thing, id. Hom.; παρὰ δύναμιν beyond one's strength, Thuc.; ὑπὲρ δ. Dem.; κατὰ δ. as far as lies in one, Lat. pro virili, Hdt.

power, might, authority, Aesch., etc.

a force for war, forces, Xen.

a quantity, Lat. vis, χρημάτων δ. Hdt., etc.

a power, faculty, capacity, αἱ τοῦ σώματος δυνάμεις Plat., etc.; also of plants, etc., Xen.

the force or meaning of a word, Plat., etc.

the worth or value of money, Thuc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASF — Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-bil'-i-ti (dunamis, or ischus): Variously used of resources, material, mental and spiritual; e.g. of wealth, "gave after their ability" (Ezr 2:69); of mental endowment, "ability to stand in the king's palace" (Da 1:4); of talents and character, "several ability" (Mt 25:15); of spiritual strength, "minister, as of the ability which God giveth" (the King James Version 1Pe 4:11). It thus may signify either possessions, native capacity, or gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
73%power
power73% · 88×miracles13% · 15×powers4% · 5×ability3% · 3×other renderings4% · 5×other renderings3% · 4×

120 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial44%object25%subject25%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 119 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,γίνομαιI come into beinμηδέNeg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐξουσίαpower, authorityπνεῦμαwind, breath, spσύ
ἐν
ἀλλάbut, exceptἔρχομαιI come, goθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
ἐκδίδωμιI offer, giveἀΐδιοςeternal
μετά
νεφέληa cloudοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
δύναμις[their] ability119×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godγίνομαιI come into beinοὐρανόςthe sky, the hea
καίand, even, also, nam
δόξαhonor, renown, gἔρχομαιI come, goἐξουσίαpower, authority
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅτιthat, since, becεἰς
θεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, existδιάκαίand, even, also,
πολύςmuch, many, often
ποιέωI do, makeδιάκαίand, even, also,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceδύναμις · 119× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians Luke Matthew Revelation 2 Corinthians Acts Mark Romans Hebrews Ephesians 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 207 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch The Didache
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦθ’ ἡσυχαστέον, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐπιτολμητέον λέγειν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδέν, ὀλίγα δ’ ἀντὶ πολλῶν, ἐφ’ ἃ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν φθάνειν εἰκὸς ἔρωτι καὶ πόθῳ σοφίας κατεσχημένην.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 20.1c. AD 100

ὁδὸς γάρ ἐστιν θανάτου αἰωνίου μετὰ τιμωρίας, ἐν ᾖ ἐστιν τὰ ἀπολλύντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν: εἰδωλολατρεία, θρασύτης, ὕψος δυνάμεως, ὑπόκρισις, διπλοκαρδία, μοιχεία, φόνος, ἁρπαγή, ὑπερηφανία, παράβασις, δόλος, κακία, αὐθάδεια, φαρμακεία, μαγεία,…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 8th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD
P. Lond. 2 p. XXVIII no. 294 descr.Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 117–AD 118

τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα καθήκει γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν τοῦ βίου ἐνδημοῦντος καὶ ἀποδημοῦντος αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς Κρονίας ἄμεμπτον καὶ ἀκατηγόρητον ἑαυτὴν παρεχομένης

ZPE 34 (1979), p. 119-130Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 153

Πασίωνος ἐπιχορηγοῦντος αὐτῇ τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν ὡς ἐπὶ γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν τοῦ βίου· καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ χωρισμοῦ ἀποδώσει ὁ Πασίων τῇ Χαιρημονίδι τὴν προκιμένην φερνήν,

P.Mil.Vogl. 2 71Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 172–AD 175

τὰ δέοντα πάντα καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα καθήκει γυναικὶ γαμετῇ κατὰ δύναμιν, αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς Τεφορσάϊτος τῆς καὶ Εὐδαιμονίδος ἄμεμπτον καὶ ἀκατηγόρητον ἑαυτὴν παρεχομένης ἐν τῇ

For according to [their] ability, I testify [that], and beside [their] ability [they were] willing of themselves,
αὐθαίρετοι,authairetos [they were] willing of themselves, G830 Adjective · nominative · plural · masculine
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This term means self-chosen or voluntary, and it's used in 2 Corinthians 8:3 and 8:17 to describe willing acts of kindness. It highlights the importance of giving freely and willingly.
Amplified meaning
self-chosen, voluntary, without coercion
Tyndale gloss
self-chosen
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word αὐθαίρετος (*authairetos*) is built from αὐτός (self) and αἱρέομαι (to choose). It means self-chosen or voluntary, often referring to actions taken of one's own accord. The New Testament uses it in 2 Corinthians 8:3, 17. The lexicons note its application to both people and things, with some references to its use in classical literature.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

** αὐθαίρετος, -ον

(< αὐτός, αἱρέομαι),

[in Sm.: Ex 35:5, 22*;]

self-chosen.

of one's own accord: II Co 8:3, 17.†

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

αὐθ-αίρετος, -ov, (fr. αὐτός and αἱρέομαι), self-chosen ; in Grk. writ. esp. of states or conditions, as δουλεία, Thue. 6, 40, ete., more rarely of persons; voluntary, of free choice, of one’s own accord, (as στρατηγός, Xen. an. 5, 7, 29, explained § 28 by és ἑαυτὸν ἔληται) : 2 Co. viii. 3, 17.

Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

αὐθαίρετος. In OG/S 5838 (i/A.D.) a certain Adrastus is praised as δωρεὰν Kal αὐθαίρετος γυμνασίαρχος, zc. he had provided oil at his own expense for the combatants, and exercised the office voluntarily (see the editor’s note): cf. also the late P Par 2118 (A.D. 616) av@atpérw βουλήσει Kal ἀδόλῳ συνειδήσει. For the adverb see Magn 163!°% πᾶσάν τε

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐθαίρετος (authairetos) — self-chosen.

αὐθ-αίρετος, ον,

self-chosen, self-elected, στρατηγοί[Refs 5th c.BC+]; στεφανηφόρος voluntary, i.e. undertaking the duty at one's own expense, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]. adverb -τως[Refs 1st c.AD+]

II. by free choice, of one-self, [NT+5th c.BC+]; independent, free, εὐβουλία[Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. of things, due to one's own choice, ὄλβος[Refs 5th c.BC+]; usually of evils, self-incurred, πημοναί[Refs 5th c.BC+]; κίνδυνοι, δουλεία, [Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb -τως of free choice, [LXX+4th c.AD+]; πείθεσθαί τινι[Refs 1st c.AD+], independently, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐθαίρετος

authairetos

from 846 and the same as 140; self-chosen, i.e. (by implication)

voluntary:--of own accord, willing of self.

see GREEK for 846

see GREEK for 140

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐθαίρετος, ον

Adj

of one’s own accord

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐθαίρετος authairetos 2x

pr. one who chooses his own course of action; acting spontaneously, of one’s own accord, 2 Cor. 8:3, 17*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐθαίρετος self-chosen, self-elected, Xen.

by free choice, of oneself, Eur.: independent, Thuc.

of things taken upon oneself, self-incurred, voluntary, Soph., Thuc., etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NPM — Adjective · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NPM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%willing of themselves
willing of themselves50% · 1×his own accord50% · 1×

2 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 2 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
δύναμιςmight, power, marvel
παρά
ὑπάρχωI am, exist, am in p
δέbut, on the othe
αὐθαίρετος[they were] willing of themselves,
what comes after →
ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come out
πρός

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceαὐθαίρετος · 2× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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